Peripheral (i.e., non-CNS) immunity in vertebrates is mediated by two systems: the innate immune system and the adaptive immune system. The innate immune system provides an early, non-specific response to injury and/or infection. By contrast, the adaptive immune system is brought into play later in the process of injury or infection, and is specific to the invading pathogen. The innate immune system, being evolutionary more ancient, is active in plants, invertebrates and vertebrates, while the adaptive immune system is active in vertebrates only.
As noted above, the innate immune system becomes active immediately upon infection, at the site of infection, and does not depend on prior exposure to the infecting pathogen. It thus provides a set of general defense mechanisms that are not specific to any particular pathogen. Cellular elements of the innate immune system include macrophages, dendritic cells, neutrophils and natural killer (NK) cells. Macromolecular components of the innate immune system include defensin peptides and the complement system. Additional elements of innate immunity include physical barriers to infection (such as the keratinization of the skin, tight junctions between epithelial cells, stomach acid and the mucus secreted by many epithelial tissues) and cell-intrinsic responses such as, for example, phagocytosis (sometimes coupled with lysosomal fusion of phagocytosed material) and degradation of double-stranded RNA.
Activation of the innate immune system is mediated, in part, by recognition of pathogen-associated molecules such as, for example, N-formyl methionine-containing polypeptides, cell wall peptidoglycans, bacterial flagella, lipopolysaccharides, techoic acid, and fungal-specific molecules such as mannan, glucan and chitin. In addition, certain nucleic acid sequences common to microorganisms (such as unmethylated CpG dinucleotides) can trigger innate immune responses. Recognition of such pathogen-associated immunostimulants results in the mounting of an inflammatory response and phagocytosis of the pathogen by macrophages, neutrophils and/or dendritic cells.
Certain of the pathogen-associated immunostimulants noted above occur in repeating patterns called pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), which can be recognized by pattern recognition receptors on the surfaces of innate immune system cells. These receptors include soluble members of the complement system and membrane-bound receptors such as members of the Toll-like receptor family (TLRs) and the so-called NOD proteins. The membrane-bound receptors can stimulate phagocytosis and activate programs of gene expression responsible for various innate and adaptive immune responses.
Finally, the innate immune system is involved in activating adaptive immunity, in part by secreting extracellular signaling molecules which stimulate proliferation and differentiation of cells of the adaptive immune system, and also by processing and presenting antigens to cells of the adaptive immune system.
The adaptive immune system, in contrast to the innate immune system, is not activated immediately upon infection, and generates specific, long-lived responses to pathogens. Activation of the adaptive immune system occurs not at the site of injury, but in lymphoid organs, and depends on presentation of antigens by components of the innate immune system to activate cells of the adaptive immune system. The principal cells of the adaptive immune system are B-lymphocytes (B cells), which synthesize and secrete antibodies, and T-lymphocytes (T cells).
There are three major classes of T cells: cytotoxic, helper, and regulatory (or suppressor) T cells. Cytotoxic T cells are able to kill infected host cells. Helper T cells participate in activation of macrophages, dendritic cells, B cells and cytotoxic T cells by secreting cytokines and/or by surface expression of one of a number of different co-stimulatory molecules. There are two types of helper T cells: TH1 cells participate in activation of macrophages, cytotoxic T cells and B cells to provide immunity to intracellular pathogens and secrete the macrophage-activating cytokines interferon gamma (IFN-γ) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). TH1 cells are also capable of stimulating inflammatory responses. TH2 cells help activate B cells to produce antibodies, primarily in response to extracellular pathogens, and secrete the cytokines interleukin 4 (IL4) and interleukin 10 (IL10). Development of a naïve helper T cell into a TH1 cell is stimulated by interleukin 12 (IL12); while pathogen-induced expression of the Jagged protein by a dendritic cell will guide a naïve helper T cell to develop into a TH2 cell producing IL4, which stimulates antibody production by B cells. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) inhibit the function of cytotoxic T cells, helper T cells and dendritic cells, and are unique in expressing the Foxp3 transcription factor. Thus, the interplay between helper T cells and regulatory T cells helps keep the immune response in balance, with sufficient activity to clear an invading pathogen without excessive damage to the host.
A class of lymphocytes in the adaptive immune system known as memory cells retains receptors to a pathogen subsequent to infection and clearance, enabling the host organism to mount a more rapid adaptive immunological response to a subsequent encounter with the same pathogen, and providing the basis for natural or vaccination-induced immunity to many infections diseases. By contrast, the innate immune system does not retain such immunological memory.
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs, also known as “marrow stromal cells” or “marrow adherent stem cells”), that have been transfected with a plasmid expressing the Notch intracellular domain (NICD), are useful for the treatment of a number of diseases and disorders of the central and peripheral nervous systems. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,682,825 (Mar. 23, 2010); US Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0216276 (Sep. 28, 2006); US Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0034790 (Feb. 11, 2010) US Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0310523 (Dec. 9, 2010); International Patent Application Publication No. WO08/102,460 (Aug. 28, 2008); Yasuhara et al. (2009) Stem Cells and Development 18:1501-1513 and Glavaski-Joksimovic et al. (2009) Cell Transplantation 18:801-814.
The ability of these cells, known as SB623 cells, to rescue damaged neural tissue is associated, in part, with their secretion of various trophic factors and their elaboration of various extracellular matrix components. See, for example, US Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0266554 (Oct. 21, 2010) and US Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0310529 (Dec. 9, 2010).
Current cell transplantation therapies have significant disadvantages, including, for example, host peripheral immunological reactions to the transplanted cells. In addition, inflammation is a hallmark of many neurodegenerative diseases, such as, for example, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis. Villoslada et al. (2008) Clin. Immunol. 128:294-305. MSCs have been reported to attenuate peripheral immune activity through mechanisms that include blocking production of antigen-presenting cells and altering the cytokine profile of helper T-cells. Kong et al. (2009) J. Neuroimmunol. 207:83-91. However, MSCs have limited regenerative potential, becoming senescent following ex vivo manipulation. Wagner et al. (2008) PLoS One 3:e2213; Jin et al. (2010) Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 391:1471-1476. Although senescent cells secrete a number of cytokines which could be beneficial for tissue regeneration, the overall senescent cell secretory profile is pro-inflammatory. Rodier et al. (2009) Nature Cell Biol. 11:973-979; Coppé et al. (2008) PLoS Biol. 6:2853-2868; Freund et al. (2010) Trends Mol. Med. 16 (5): 238-246.
For these and other reasons, there remains a need for methods and compositions for cell transplantation that do not provoke host peripheral immune responses, and/or that reduce inflammatory, and other immune, responses.